Plug-in surface unit



vJune 20,. 1967A L. c:. HANsoNv PLUG-IN SURFACE UNIES Sheets-Sheet f2 l Filed Dec. v31,

UnitedStates Patent O 3,327,095 PLUG-IN SURFACE UNIT Leroy C. Hanson, Elmhurst, Ill., assignor to Ferro Corporation, a corporation of Ohio Filed Dec. 31, 1962, Ser. No. 248,669 3 Claims. (Cl. 219-451) 'I'his invention relates to mounting units and the electrical connections therein, and their association with heating elements used in an electric range; and more particularly, to a fixed housinghaving a floating connector block movably mounted therein to receive a removable plugin surface unit heating element.

It is the general practice in the prior art to firmly affix the connector block in the electric range, thereby creating various manufacturing and assembling problems. The main problem encountered is diiculty in aligning the heating element on its support yet still providing a good releasable electrical contact with the mountingFurther, some warpage in the range top is generally experienced during enameling or mounting regardless of the reinforcing lmeans used, and this also 'makes proper support and-electrical connections difficult to obtain. Then too, the-manufacturing tolerances in the surface unit heating elements, plug-in contacts and mounting arrangements necessarywith the prior art units further aggravate the mounting situation. Since the terminals on the plug-in surface unit heating element and the contacts in the connector bl-ock must be in ggod alignment for good electrical contact, some hand fitting of the heating element unit is often required with existing plug-in units, and even When'the contacts are in ggod alignment, the surface unit supporters may not rest properly on the range top. With the use of a free floating connector block and a plug-in heating element, the connect-or block can move to facilitate the necessary alignment and the unit will always be seated properly on the range top with a good electrical contact between the parts.

`It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved mounting means for a heating element in an electric range which will provide a good releasable electrical Contact and at the same time permit the -heating element to be irmly supported and properly positioned.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a free floating mounting connector having electrical contacts therein which will'permit alignment of a heating element on the element unit support and still provide good electrical connections.

Still another object of thejpresent invention is to provide a new and improved mounting means for use with a heating element unit in an electric range which will eliminate the necessity of hand fitting of parts, substantially decrease the allowance of manufacturing tolerances, yet at the same time provide a firm support and good electrical contacts for the heating element.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved free floating connector block movably affixed in a housing for use with an electric heating element, said housing including guide means to direct -the heating element into proper position upon assembly.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved mounting means as described hereinabove, the housing of said mounting having a cover portion including an electrical contact shield and supporting bracket fixed thereto, said cover being releasably attached to the connector housing.

Other objects and advantages will become readily apparent from the following detailed description .taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. l is a plan view of the invention and the heating 3,327,695 Patented June 20, 1967 element positioned in an electric range with portions of the electric range top broken away to more clearly show the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken in elevation along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective View o fthe connector block;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged elevational view of the mounting and connector block;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6`is a sectional view taken along line 6 6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective View of the mounting cover with the wire shield attached thereto; and

FIG. 8 is'a perspective 4view of the housing with a portion broken away to more clearly show the invention.

While an illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawings and will be described in detail herein, the invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, and it'should be understood that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplilication of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated. The Vscope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a mounting 10 shown generally in its environment connected ft-o a plug-in heating element 12. The heating element 12 is supported by a spider 14 and is connected thereto as at 16 as is well known in the art. The spider 14 includes ends 18 which are supported by an electric'range top 20'.

' Included on the heating element at the terminal ends thereof are male contacts 22 which complete the circuit to the-wiring harness'of the electric range (not shown) as will be discussed hereinafter. A grounding member 24 is attached to the heating element 12 to furnish a ground contact when the mounting lll and the heating element 12 are in operating position.

vAs shown inFIGS. 4 and 5, the mounting inclu-des a housing 26 with a connector block 28 movably mounted therein. The connector block comprises two identical i' ceramic parts cemented together to make a unitary block.

A cover portion 30 having upstanding anges 32 thereon and slots 34 therein supports a wiring shield 36 and an attaching bracket 39.

Included inthe housing 26 are ground clips 38 for making a resiliently biased contact with grounding member 24 thus completing a ground circuit 'between the heating element 12 and the electric range. A pair of apertures 40 which cooperate with ears 42 on the connector block 28 and a pair of movable tabs 44 which cooperate with cover 30 are also included on the housing 26. Screw holes 46 carry fastening screws 48 and position cover 30 by alignment with screw holes 50 in cover 30 as will be discussed in detail hereinafter. A heating element terminal guide 52 is positioned forward the location of the connector block 28 as shown in FIG. 5 and serves the purpose of guiding the terminal contacts 22 of heating element 12 into apertures 54 of the connector block 28 and into contact with female contacts S6 mounted in the connector block. As the terminals are inserted toward the apertures 54 the guide 52 causes them to be directed upwardly from the bottom of the housing toward the apertures. The contacts 56 are connected to the wiring of the electric range (not shown) as by screws 58 as is well known in the art.

In operation, the connector block 28 is placed into the housing 26 so that ears 42 of the connector block fit into apertures 40. The apertures 40 are of a larger size than the ears 42 thereby permitting movement of the connector block within the housing. The connector block is then wired to the electric range by means of screws 58 thereby readying the ranges electric circuit for connection to the heating element' 12. The cover 30 including the wiring shield 36 welded thereto at the rear and the mounting bracket 39 welded thereto at the front is then attached to the housing 26. This is accomplished by inserting upstanding anges `60 of the housing into slots 34 of the cover. As the cover is pushed into place, thereby bringing screw holes 46 on the housing into alignment with screw holes 50 on the cover, movable tabs 44 spring into position as shown in FIG. 6, thus retaining the cover firmly, but releasably, on housing 26. At this time, screws 48 are inserted in the screw holes 46 and 50 to ensure a rigid stru-cture. The screw 48 may also be used to connect a range grounding wire (not shown) to the housing 26. Thus, when the attaching bracket 39 is welded to cover 30 the screw 48 continues the grounding circuit as well as improving the rigidity of the assembly. If housing 26 was attached in a diierent manner to the range frame and such means provided a grounding circuit, then the grounding screws 48 would not -be required. The combined housing 26, .connector block 28 and cover 30, including wiring shield 36 and bracket 39 are then attached to the electric range by means of screw 62. This screw 62 holds the mounting unit in place, rrnly attached to range top 20 as is shown in FIG. 2 and is well known in the art.

At this time the heating element 12 including the spider 14, grounding member 24 and contacts 22 is plugged into the mounting unit 10. As the contacts 22 slide over the terminal guide 52 they are directed into apertures 54 of the connector block. As the heating element is inserted at an angle to the range, the insertion of the contacts tilts the block to align the apertures 54 with the contacts. As the heating element 12 is further inserted grounding member 24 ofthe heating element contacts Vground clips 38 on the housing 26. A further insertion of the heating element then completes a circuit between contacts 22 on the heating element and 56 in the connector block and also creates a good grounding circuit by further forcing grounding member 24 into resiliently Vmounted ground clips 38.

It is now possible for the spider 14 to be properly positioned on range top 20 as movement between the connector block 28 and the housing 26 permits the leveling of the heating element 12 even though the mounting unit is firmly affixed to the electric range. Thus, it has been shown how a heating unit element may be properly positioned on a range top giving a level cooking surface by means of a movable connector block in a rigidly mounted housing. Further, it has been shown how the heating unit 50 may be plugged in and out when desired, and will always present a level, well supported cooking surface and a good electrical contact with the electric range circuit.

I claim:

1. In an electric range the combination of a plug-in surface heating element 'having terminal ends and a mounting for said heating element, said mounting com prising a generally rectangular housing a-dapted to be secured to said range, said housing having an aperture in opposed walls thereof, a connector block of insulating material having channels therein for receiving said terminal ends, and a pair of ears on opposite sides of said connector block, each of said ears being smaller in outside dimensions than each of said apertures in said housing and being receivable in said apertures to permit multidirectional movement of said connector block within said housing in a horizontal, vertical and angular direction relative to said housing.

2. The structure as claimed in claim 1 and having guiding means on said housing for directing the term-inal ends of the heating element into the connector block. 3. In an electric range the combination of a plug-in surface heating element having terminal ends and a mounting for said heating element, said mounting comprising a metallic housing having a bottom wall, means for securing said housing to said electric range, ya connector block of insulating material mounted in said housing and having said bottom wall of the housing projecting forwardly of said connector block, guiding means on said housing for Vdirecting the terminal ends of said heating element into connection openings in said block, said guiding means comprising an upwardly sloping portion on said forwardly projecting part of said bottom wall, the high end of said sloping portion overlapping the lower edge of said connection openings for guiding the tenninal ends of said heating element from a position on said bottom wall up the guiding means into the connection openings of the connector block and resiliently mounted ground contacts on said housing for establishing a ground between the heating element and the electric range.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,442,284V 1/1923 McKay 339-34 2,001,990 5/1935 Tregoning 339-133 X 2,443,975 6/1948 Baker 339-141 X 2,472,738 6/1949 Backer 339-136 2,869,098 1/1959 Sauer 339-91 X 3,016,444 1/1962 Jasionowski 219-451 3,021,414 2/1962 Sand 219-451 3,087,042 4/1963 Hanson 219-451 3,246,123 4/1966 Ammerman et al. 219-451 RICHARD M. WOOD, Primary Examiner.

PATRICK A. CLIFFORD, Examiner.

L. H. BENDER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN AN ELECTRIC RANGE THE COMBINATION OF A PLUG-IN SURFACE HEATING ELEMENT HAVING TERMINAL ENDS AND A MOUNTING FOR SAID HEATING ELEMENT, SAID MOUNTING COMPRISING A GENERALLY RECTANGULAR HOUSING ADAPTED TO BE SECURED TO SAID RANGE, SAID HOUSING HAVING AN APERTURE IN OPPOSED WALLS THEREOF, A CONNECTOR BLOCK OF INSULATING MATERIAL HAVING CHANNELS THEREIN FOR RECEIVING SAID TERMINAL ENDS, AND A PAIR OF EARS ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID CONNECTOR BLOCK, EACH OF SAID EARS BEING SMALLER IN OUTSIDE DIMENSIONS THAN EACH OF SAID APERTURES IN SAID HOUSING AND BEING RECEIVABLE IN SAID APERTURES TO PERMIT MULTIDIRECTIONAL MOVEMENT OF SAID CONNECTOR BLOCK WITHIN SAID HOUSING IN A HORIZONTAL, VERTICAL AND ANGULAR DIRECTION RELATIVE TO SAID HOUSING. 